“It took 27 years for a team to defend this championship. Mas matagal iyon kaysa huling grand slam (1996 by Alaska Milk). That made it so special.” – Chot Reyes, coach of the Talk N Text Tropang Texters – the 2012 PBA Philippine Cup repeat champions.

Like their victims the TNT Tropang Texters can also be considered, in many ways, a “Cinderella” squad. Consider these:

-They lost a heartbreaking series to the Petron Blaze Boosters in the last conference of the previous season.

-Though their roster is the most stacked in the league, they hardly enjoyed their depth as many of their players suffered a plethora of injuries throughout the Philippine Cup.

-We all know what happened to Ali Peek, right?

-They were down 1-3 to their former tormentors, Petron, in the semifinals.

Despite all those bumps in the road, however, coach Chot Reyes’s crew stuck in there and seemingly willed their way to win 7 of their last 8 matches, ending with something that hasn’t happened in nearly 3 decades – an All-Filipino title successfully defended.

Talk N Text’s stars came together at just the right time. Ali Peek’s return brought awe and inspiration to the PBA faithful. They rallied to beat the Boosters, and get a measure of vengeance in the process. They showed their superiority against a hot-shooting Powerade five.

It was a great ride for the Texters, and, through it all, the lone star who shone the brightest and played in ALL of TNT’s games was decorated as the Finals MVP – Larry Fonacier.

The Baby-Faced Assassin, as he is fondly tagged, averaged a shade above 16 points per game in the Finals, showing the versatility and shooting that made him a feared competitor in years past. Now, it seems there’s no slowing him, and the Texters, down.

Right now the Tropang Texters are the best in the Philippines, and if one is to simply look back at their story, it would be easy to conclude that all this glory in which they are basking was, after all, inevitable.

After the JUMP -- the compressed game recap from PBA.ph:

From the brink of disaster all the way to the pinnacle of glory.

Talk N Text completed this incredible ride as the Tropang Texters brushed off the Powerade Tigers to successfully defend the PBA Philippine Cup championship to the delight of their cheering fans at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday. The Texters sprang back strong from their Game Four defeat, overwhelming the Tigers with a massive effort to reward themselves with a third title in the last four conferences

It was so sweet as it made them only the first team in 27 years to rule the most prestigious tourney in back-to-back fashion.

Reyes had his personal achievement, catching up with Jong Uichico at fourth in the all-time ladder among champion coaches. Reyes and Uichico have got eight to Baby Dalupan’s 15, Tim Cone’s 13 and Norman Black’s 10.

The eloquent TNT bench tactician, now with five all-Filipino championships under his belt, said the tragedy suffered and survived by Ali Peek and the epic comeback they pulled off against Petron Blaze in the Final Four made their latest conquest more meaningful. The Texters completed a special journey while cutting short the Tigers’ Cinderella ride.

Ryan Reyes picked a good game to flash fine form from
both ends of the floor.
(image by Paul Ryan Tan/InterAKTV.com)

What can’t be taken away from Powerade was the gallant stand the Tigers put up despite all their handicaps. The Cinderella team, making it all the way to the Finals after barely entering the playoffs, refused to give up even if they fell behind by 24 points in the third quarter.

But the Texters, calm, composed and simply the better team, hung in there.

Fonacier scored only 9 points, but he put in all these in a decisive run helping the Texters pull away in the second quarter.

The former Ateneo Eagle averaged 16.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in the series and was named the Bayad Center Finals MVP.